Arlington National Cemetery

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Memorial Drive leads from the Lincoln Memorial, across the Potomac River, to the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, the portico of Arlington House is visible at top.
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Memorial Drive leads from the Lincoln Memorial, across the Potomac River, to the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, the portico of Arlington House is visible at top.
Plan and roadways of Arlington National Cemetery.
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Plan and roadways of Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, is an American military cemetery established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Custis Lee, a descendant of Martha Washington. The cemetery is situated directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., near to the location of The Pentagon, and is served by the Arlington Cemetery station on the Blue Line of the Washington Metro system.

Veterans from all the nation's wars are interred in the cemetery, from the American Revolution through the military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pre-Civil War dead were reinterred after 1900.

Arlington National Cemetery and U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery are administered by the Department of the Army. All other National Cemeteries are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the National Park Service.

Arlington House (Custis-Lee Mansion) and its grounds are administered by the National Park Service as a memorial to Robert E. Lee.

Contents

[edit] Burial criteria

[edit] History

By tradition, American military cemeteries developed from the duty of commanders on the frontier and in battle to care for their casualties. When Civil War casualties overflowed hospitals and burial grounds near Washington, D.C., Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs proposed in 1864 that 200 acres of the Robert E. Lee family property at Arlington be taken for a cemetery. "The grounds about the mansion," Meigs wrote, "are admirably adapted to such a use. Burials had in fact begun at Arlington before the ink was even blotted on Meigs's proposal. By war's end, 16,000 graves filled the spaces close to the house. Heir to the property Custis Lee sued the government for disputing his claim to ownership. After the Supreme Court ruled in Lee's favor, Congress paid him $150,000 for title to the land.

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[edit] Today

The persons specified below are eligible for ground burial in Arlington National Cemetery. The last period of active duty of former members of the Armed Forces must have ended honorably. Interment may be casketed or cremated remains.

  • Any active duty member of the Armed Forces (except those members serving on active duty for training only).
  • Any veteran who is retired from active military service with the Armed Forces.
  • Any veteran who is retired from the Reserves is eligible upon reaching age 60 and drawing retired pay; and who served a period of active duty (other than for training).
  • Any former member of the Armed Forces separated honorably prior to October 1, 1949 for medical reasons and who was rated at 30% or greater disabled effective on the day of discharge.
  • Any former member of the Armed Forces who has been awarded one of the following decorations:
    • Medal of Honor
    • Distinguished Service Cross (Navy Cross or Air Force Cross)
    • Distinguished Service Medal
    • Silver Star
    • Purple Heart
  • The President of the United States or any former President of the United States.
  • Any former member of the Armed Forces who served on active duty (other than for training) and who held any of the following positions:
    • An elective office of the U.S. Government
    • Office of the Chief Justice of the United States or of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
    • An office listed, at the time the person held the position, in 5 USC 5312 or 5313 (Levels I and II of the Executive Schedule).
    • The chief of a mission who was at any time during his/her tenure classified in Class I under the provisions of Section 411, Act of 13 August 1946, 60 Stat. 1002, as amended (22 USC 866) or as listed in State Department memorandum dated March 21, 1988.
  • Any former prisoner of war who, while a prisoner of war, served honorably in the active military, naval, or air service, whose last period of military, naval or air service terminated honorably and who died on or after November 30, 1993.
  • The spouse, widow or widower, minor child, or permanently dependent child, and certain unmarried adult children of any of the above eligible veterans.
  • The widow or widower of:
    • a member of the Armed Forces who was lost or buried at sea or officially determined to be missing in action.
    • a member of the Armed Forces who is interred in a US military cemetery overseas that is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
    • a member of the Armed Forces who is interred in Arlington National Cemetery as part of a group burial.
  • The surviving spouse, minor child, or permanently dependent child of any person already buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
  • The parents of a minor child, or permanently dependent child whose remains, based on the eligibility of a parent, are already buried in ANC. A spouse divorced from the primary eligible, or widowed and remarried, is not eligible for interment.
  • Provided certain conditions are met, a former member of the Armed Forces may be buried in the same grave with a close relative who is already buried and is the primary eligible.

[edit] Tomb of the Unknowns

The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and has never been officially named. The Tomb of the Unknowns stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C.

One of the more popular sites at the Cemetery, the Tomb is made from Yule marble quarried in Colorado. It consists of seven pieces, with a total weight of 79 short tons (72 metric tons). The Tomb was completed and opened to the public April 9, 1932, at a cost of $48,000.

It was at first the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier." Other unknown servicemen were later buried there, and the name became "Tomb of the Unknowns."

The Tomb of the Unknowns is perpetually guarded by the U.S. Army. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") began guarding the Tomb April 6, 1948.

[edit] Memorial Amphitheater

Arlington Memorial Amphitheater is modeled on Greek and Roman amphitheatres. It is built of Vermont Imperial Danby marble in the Ionic Order.
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Arlington Memorial Amphitheater is modeled on Greek and Roman amphitheatres. It is built of Vermont Imperial Danby marble in the Ionic Order.

The Tomb of the Unknowns is part of the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater. The Memorial Amphitheater has hosted state funerals and Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies. Ceremonies are also held for Easter. About 5,000 people attend these holiday ceremonies each year. The structure is mostly built of Imperial Danby marble from Vermont. The Memorial Display room, between the amphitheater and the Tomb of the Unknowns, uses Botticino stone, imported from Italy. The amphitheater was the result of a campaign by Ivory G. Kimbal to construct a place to honor America's soldiers. Congress authorized the structure March 4, 1913. Woodrow Wilson laid the cornerstone for the building on October 15, 1915. The cornerstone contained 15 items including a Bible and a copy of the Constitution.[1]

Before the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater was completed in 1921, important ceremonies were held at what is now known as the "Old Amphitheater." This structure sits where Robert E. Lee once had his gardens. The amphitheater was built in 1868 under the direction of General John A. Logan. Gen. James A. Garfield was the featured speaker at the Decoration Day dedication ceremony, May 30, 1868. The amphitheater has an encircling colonnade with a latticed roof that once supported a web of vines. The amphitheater has a marble dais, known as "the Rostrum," which is inscribed with the U.S. national motto found on the Great Seal of the United States, E pluribus unum ("Out of many, one"). The amphitheater seated 1,500 people and hosted speakers such as William Jennings Bryan.[2]

[edit] Other notable sites

Eternal flame and marker at the grave of John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States.
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Eternal flame and marker at the grave of John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States.

Other frequently visited sites in the cemetery are the USMC War Memorial (commonly known as the "Iwo Jima Memorial") and the Netherlands Carillon (these sites are actually located adjacent to the cemetery), and the grave of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy is buried with his wife and two of their children. His grave is marked with an eternal flame. His brother, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, is also buried nearby. His grave is marked by a simple wooden cross.

The federal government dedicated a model community for freed slaves, Freedman's Village, near the current Memorial Amphitheater, December 4, 1863. More than 1,100 freed slaves were given land by the government, where they farmed and lived during and after the Civil War. They were turned out in 1890 when the estate was repurchased by the government and dedicated as a military installation.

In Section 27, there are buried more than 3,800 former slaves, called "Contrabands" during the Civil War. Their headstones are designated with the word "Civilian" or "Citizen".

Remembering the Maine The memorial to the USS Maine
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Remembering the Maine The memorial to the USS Maine

Near the Tomb of the Unknowns stands a memorial to the 266 men who lost their lives aboard the USS Maine. The memorial is adorned by a mast salvaged from the wreckage.

Cenotaph memorial honoring the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
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Cenotaph memorial honoring the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

The Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial was dedicated on May 20, 1986 in memory of the crew of flight STS-51-L, who died during launch on 28 January 1986. Transcribed on the back of the stone is the text of the John Gillespie Magee, Jr. poem entitled High Flight. Although many remains were identified and returned to the families for private burial, some were not, and were laid to rest under the marker. Two of the crewmembers, Scobee and Smith, are buried in Arlington, as well. There is also a similar memorial to those who died when the Shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry on February 1, 2003, dedicated on the first anniversary of the disaster.

On a knoll just south of Arlington House, with views of the Washingtom Monument and Capitol, is a memorial to Pierre-Charles L'Enfant the architect who laid out the city of Washington. His remains lay below a marble memorial incised with his plan for the city. L'Enfant envisioned a grand neoclassical capital city for the young republic that would rival the capitals of European monarchies.

There are memorials to those killed in two acts of terrorist violence:

  • The Pentagon memorial, which takes the shape of the Pentagon, is the memorial to the 184 victims of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The memorial lists the names of the 184 victims that were killed.
  • The cairn, the Lockerbie memorial, which is the memorial to the 270 killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The memorial is made up of 270 stones, one for each person killed in the disaster (259 on the plane, 11 on the ground). The fact that 189 of the victims were Americans made the bombing the worst single act of terrorist violence against Americans prior to the September 11 attacks.

The noted composer, arranger, trombonist, and Big Band leader Maj. Alton Glenn Miller of the U.S. Army Air Forces has been missing in action since Dec. 15, 1944. Miller was eligible for a memorial headstone in Arlington National Cemetery as a service member who died on active duty whose remains were not recoverable. At his daughter's request, a stone was placed in Memorial Section H, Number 464-A on Wilson Drive in Arlington National Cemetery in April 1992.

There are only two mausoleums located within the confines of the Cemetery. One is for the family of General Nelson Appleton Miles located in Section 3 and the other one belongs to the family of General Thomas Crook Sullivan and it is located in Section 1.

There is a Canadian Cross of Sacrifice with the names of all the citizens of the USA who lost their lives fighting in the Canadian forces during the Korean War and the two World Wars.

The Women in Military Service for America Memorial can be found at the Ceremonial Entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.

[edit] Burial procedures

Respectful silence is requested at Arlington.
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Respectful silence is requested at Arlington.
The Custis-Lee Mansion's flag flying at half-staff. The flag is lowered during interrments.
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The Custis-Lee Mansion's flag flying at half-staff. The flag is lowered during interrments.

The flags in Arlington National Cemetery are flown at half-staff from a half hour before the first funeral until a half hour after the last funeral each day. Funerals are normally conducted five days a week, excluding weekends.

Funerals, including interments and inurnments, average well over 20 a day. The Cemetery conducts approximately 5,400 burials each year. [3]

With more than 260,000 people interred there, Arlington National Cemetery has the second-largest number of people buried of any national cemetery in the United States. The largest of the 130 national cemeteries is the Calverton National Cemetery, on Long Island, near Riverhead, New York, which conducts more than 7,000 burials each year.

In addition to in-ground burial, Arlington National Cemetery also has one of the larger columbariums for cremated remains in the country. Four courts are currently in use, each with 5,000 niches. When construction is complete, there will be nine courts with a total of 50,000 niches; capacity for 100,000 remains. Any honorably discharged veteran is eligible for inurnment in the columbarium.

[edit] Notable burials

[edit] Notable military figures

As of May 2006, there were 367 Medal of Honor recipients buried in Arlington National Cemetery[1], nine of whom are Canadians.

[edit] Wartime service members with other distinguished careers

Rows of tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery
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Rows of tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery

[edit] Notable civilian citizens

Whether or not they were wartime service members, presidents and defense secretaries are eligible to be buried at Arlington, since they oversaw the armed forces.

Three state funerals have been held at Arlington: those of presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy, and that of General of the Armies John Pershing.

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

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